Alan Hansen is one of the most successful British footballers of all
time, with 17 major honours to his credit.

During his 14 years at Liverpool, he won seven Championships, three
European Cups, two FA Cups, four League Cups and one League Super Cup.
He was also capped 26 times by Scotland.

Born in June, 1955, Hansen began his career at Partick Thistle in
1973, making 108 appearances before his move to Merseyside in 1977.

He made 621 appearances for Liverpool, captaining the team between
1985 and 1990.

But a knee injury ended his playing career in 1991.

He worked for Sky as a football analyst for one season before
joining the BBC's Match of the Day team in 1992.

Hansen's insights into the strengths and weaknesses of teams and
individual players have won him a reputation as TV's best football
pundit.

He has also developed a career as a presenter, fronting three BBC
football documentaries - The Sack Race, The Football Millionaires and
Football's Foreign Legion.

A keen golfer, Hansen has also presented The Magic of the Masters,
a BBC programme on the history and traditions of the US Masters.

A football columnist for Match of the Day magazine, The Express
newspaper and The Radio Times, he lives in Southport with his wife and
two children.

All About Alan

If William Wallace
had lived long enough to forge a career in battle punditry, you can bet your
Ayr United shirt that he wouldn't have been as ruthless in his analysis as
the 20th century's own tartan warrior, Alan Hansen

The former Anfield hero blushed when he was described by his Match of the
Day accomplice Gary Lineker, as perhaps the shrewdest contemporary pundit in
the land. Indeed, the affable Scot concedes that the only rings he's ever
rung around a professional footballer are those which he's drawn with his
magic pen in another moment of television opprobrium.
However, ask anyone who's played with or against this once uncompromising
centre- half and they'll tell you it is no coincidence Hansen played in
arguably Liverpool's greatest ever side.

Young, talented and well ahead of his time, Hansen belied the usual traits
of the British centre-half by his extraordinary grace on the ball. But
accompanying this was an unremitting inner resolve which left most forwards
quaking in their boots at the prospect of coming face to face with the
Anfield hero.

Despite his obvious credentials for graduating into management, Hansen
thumbed through his wealth of opportunities and eventually plumped to move
into football journalism. And barring the occasional hasty comment ("You'll
never win anything with kids"- United race away with the Premier League
title), his reputation grows each Saturday night.

But Hansen is the first to concede that he still gets nervous before his
weekly television appearances. "Certainly not as nervous as I used to ge for
big European games but still very nervous. The difference is there's 50,000
people out there berating your every move when you're in a football stadium
yet when you're on the Match of the Day set you've got Gary, Albert and a
small production team.